Under the Grey
by jambled
Summary: In Kite's thoughts at an early hour. And they're very Lilly. Featuring the coat, and the infamous drunk dial. Mhm.
1. That Coat

**Under the Grey**

Playlist: You've Been Loved by Joseph Arthur : Silver Girl by Patrick Park

The truth was, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Snowflake eyes that changed from blue to grey, depending on the weather and her mood. Pale, perfect skin. He'd always been enthralled with the stretch from the swell of her breasts to the smooth sleekness of her stomach; that long, sloping space that he would lay his head on, post coital. When they'd be locked in the afterglow, her slender fingers curling through his hair, his arms spread out over her, one lying along her legs. Legs that went on longer than he'd thought possible; the pants she wore were cut well, but didn't lend themselves to the vision he'd been presented with when they'd come off. Those deceptively long legs.

She'd been almost shy the first time she'd undressed in front of him; different than the lawyers and receptionists he'd bedded since who had flaunted their bodies in front of him, needing his eyes on them, the knowledge their gym-pumped and sauna perfected bodies were turning him on. None of them realised he was imagining them as a pale nymph, ethereal in her lightness, almost transparent in the muted light of his apartment.

Ever since he'd first seen her, standing in the sunlight outside Philly PD, he'd wanted to claim her. Her hair was messy in the breeze, the cardboard coffee cup in her hand lazily letting steam off into the chilly morning. Her suit was grey, her shirt white. He still remembered pausing to look at her, so still amongst the scurrying foot traffic, while she waited there in shades of grey. Then she turned when someone called out. Her jacket flapped and the lining was hot pink, effervescent on her sombre appearance. That had been what had sealed the deal; he wanted to get to know the woman underneath the grey.

He still wasn't sure he'd known her, not completely. He'd known what it had felt like to have those legs wrapped around him, what if felt like to hold her to him, her thin frame warming his front, what it felt like to feel her soft lips under his, her sweet tongue sliding into his mouth. But that was all physical; the scent of her, the feel of her. He hadn't heard her history, why she decided homicide was the place for her, why she never talked about her family. He'd been left to imagine what might have happened between her and her sister, why she had pictures of dead people on her bedroom walls, why she pulled away from him when he talked about a future with the two of them in it together. She was, as he'd realised too late, an enigma, so unlike any other woman he'd dated. She seemed to resent the casualness of their relationship, but when it became too comfortable and close, she'd backed away. She'd been shy at first in the bedroom, letting him lead. After a while, the wildcat, the pink in her coat had appeared, and he'd thought he might be getting to her. Instead, she'd started to get to him.

Their first kiss was as perfect as he'd imagined; a little cautious, a little new. He'd wanted to kiss her that night as soon as he'd put his hand on her waist, moved her away from the street side of the pavement, let his palm linger. Even through her coat he'd felt the fineness of her figure, had wanted to be able to feel it without clothes on. She'd nearly managed to evade him, but he'd captured her, put his briefcase down on the soft snow, leant in to lips that were carefully parted, breathing a warmth into him that was welcome on the snowy night.

Now he was lying above sheets in a room that hadn't dreamed of being as cold as he'd been that Philly night. He was in a city where it never snowed, but he could never feel as warm as when he'd been in the snow with her then.

Rolling onto his side, pulling a pillow over to mask the fact that the double bed held only him, he wondered what she was doing now. Whether she was deep in dreams, kept warm by the disabled cats that had always made an appearance in the bed when they woke up in the morning. Or if there was someone else in her bed; the partner she had, who'd instantly disliked him, maybe some other lucky bastard who'd managed to get to her, who had been sucked under her spell.

Sighing, realising he wasn't going to get any more sleep for the night, Kite released the pillow and lay onto his back before pulling himself into a sitting position. Four in the morning and the street outside his apartment was quiet, the car sounds from a few blocks over the only noise that infiltrated the stillness. Padding out to the kitchen in boxers and bare feet, Kite pulled a carton of juice out of the 'fridge and had a long drink. His new job was just as stressful as the old; still pandering to pressures from politicians, police bureaucracy, victim's families who had gone too long without 'justice'; whatever that was anymore, he wasn't sure he knew. Truth was, he'd moved here to get away from here. He'd thought he could handle it; just another break up, that he'd initiated. But instead, seeing her had become awkward, not only because they were now no more than mutual strangers who had seen each other naked but because every time he caught a glimpse of her somewhere in PPD, every time he saw her in her dark clothes, her hair still messy, still carelessly uptwisted he wanted her back. He wanted to be able to call her at night, just to hear her breathe, wanted to feel comfortable walking into her bedroom, hanging his jacket on her bed, knowing he would be waking up with her and the cats. He wanted it back so much that it hurt him to see her. To see the image presented to the world, and to know that the underneath, the hot pink, was something he'd managed to get a glimpse into and consequently throw away because he hadn't been able to accept any less than all of her. These days, he'd be happy to have half of her; he'd let her hold her secrets and deal them out to him slowly so that he could hold them as close to him as she did to her, so that they could share looks across the room. So that she'd smile that irrepressible smile at him, the one that he never failed to smile back to. So that he could walk her home in the snow every night, no matter how late it was. They'd share their day, kiss on the corner, interlock arms to share warmth. And he'd let her have her guarded history, and her absent family and her pictures on the wall if he could have all that.

There might be a chapter two. In real time rather than expressly in Kite's head at godawful hours of the morning! Sorry for all discrepancies of time line, place, etc etc. I'm not American. I barely know the geography of my own country. Besides, people, this is fanfic. Give us some room to move, don't kill the artist yada yada yada. Review, please .


	2. Drunk Dial

**Under the Grey II**

**Spoilers:** Anything before Beautiful Little Fool.

**Disclaimer:** Obviously not.

All day he'd been absent minded. In a meeting, his paralegal had asked him the same question four times before he could formulate the answer everyone had wanted to hear. He knew it wasn't just the lack of sleep, it was his continuous ruminations of her. He'd thought about her in the few years since his departure, wondering how she was, who she was with, if she'd managed to find anyone that made her stop looking so hard for answers for the dead. Selfishly, he hoped she was still the same, still pristine and alone.

He'd managed to move away without looking back, managed to tell her he didn't regret it in their last conversation. Truth was, he didn't regret the relationship. He regretted sitting across from her and looking into tear-darkening eyes and finalising things between them. He'd felt bitter then, the events of the night before still heavy in his mind. She'd given him up over a random who left his wife and family to show up at her door at one in the morning. Her eyes were grey when he sat down and looked at her, absorbed her apology; blue with unshed tears when he left her sitting at the table. He'd held her pale, cold fingertips and, avoiding her eyes so he didn't fall into the crystalline depths of them, told her he didn't want to live like that. He didn't want to have the small part of her that wasn't married to the job then; hadn't known he'd miss so much the part he was giving up.

Tripping up the stairs after a day that had started to early and ended too late even reminded him of her; the way she'd leave in the morning before him, the way he'd practically have to steal her away at night. He fumbled the key in the lock, wondering what she was doing, if she was still out somewhere in the dark.

He paused as he came through the door. Surely she hadn't hijacked his reality as well as his dreaming world; he was sure he could hear her voice. It sounded slightly blurred, as if she'd consumed too much alcohol.

Kite crossed over to his answering machine and listened. It was the first time he'd heard her talk since he left, other than several frantic calls he'd made to her after news of her showdown with George Marks. A few sleepless nights had passed; which was when his memories of Lil had started to settle and sear in his mind, until she left a short message on his answering machine that she was fine, and she appreciated his concern. She'd been polite and distant; back to grey with him. He'd kept the message, regardless, and replayed it whenever he felt like hearing her voice.

Tonight's message was different; even with the alcohol impeding her tone, he could hear the helplessness in it, the lack of control.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and the sudden dial tone telling him that she'd hung up. Kite swore, dialled her number as fast as she could. It rang out to her voice mail so he dialled again. The third time he called back, her service operator gave him the computer-generated message that the person he was trying to call was unavailable. Kite swore again, threw the phone down, ran a hand through his hair. She'd called him, on the very day when he could think of nothing else. She'd been vulnerable, on the edge of tears, pledging change. If this was fate, it was dealing a cruel hand. Three aces and a lonely two of hearts.

He pressed the button on his answering machine and it purred to life, the start of her message that he'd missed coming out of small speakers.

"Kite. Lilly Rush." _As if he'd forget who she was._ "Well, you're working late, I bet. Look, I wanna say something, and… I know the ship has sailed with us, so that's not why I'm calling. I, uh… I'm just going to say it. Look, I know it's on me how we ended things." _He wasn't sure whose version of events she was running on. It had been the middle-of-the-night guy that had disturbed him, but he could… should have accepted her apology._ "I got flipped out. I just… I just want to not end up like my Mom, you know." _Until now, she hadn't breathed a word about her mother other than telling him she wasn't into family Christmases. He'd been making plans, back then, to invite her to his parents house, show her off to them. _ "But I don't want to end up like this, either. So I'm done." _For a moment, his stomach sank down to rest with his toes. He entertained images from the case he'd overseen for an ADA today; a woman suicided in her office, one of few witnesses in a rape case from her childhood years ago. _ "I'm done with having to walk home alone." _His stomach realigned in the correct part of his body, and he breathed a little easier._ "She can do it, but I can't. I can change-." It was at that point he'd broken into her self-deprecating soliloquy and prompted her to, probably, flip out again. At the very least to flip her phone closed and firmly shut him out. Kite sat down in the chair at his desk, rubbed his eyes, stretched out so he was sitting back. He was suddenly so weary, so sick of it all. He'd taken this job with hopes of furthering his career; but to what end? At least Lilly was helping people. She was finally giving people a little bit of closure. All Kite was doing these days, it seemed, was chase his own tail. Sure, he got the bad ones put away but only until they won an appeal, which was eventual. The only reason district attorneys seemed to exist these days was so that mayors and other politically ambitious individuals could figurehead him as a damper on the ever growing crime statistics. And he hated to admit it, but he'd grown tired of victims. Of their endless questions, their quietly hopeful eyes, their clinging hands. These days, he didn't want to go to work, but there was no fun staying at home in an empty apartment.

Kite dialled Lilly's home number, knowing she wouldn't be there yet, ready to leave his own answering machine message. Her voice on the recording was brighter, less hazy than the one she'd left him. He waited until the beep, imagining her cats in the dark apartment. Even with one eye, Olivia had always managed to make it look evil. His presence in the house usually meant the cats were relegated to the lounge room.

"Lilly, it's Kite. Give me a call when you get this. I'm…" He didn't want to say concerned, didn't want to act like a father figure towards her. He knew she'd find it patronising, and even harder to call him back. He knew he'd witnessed a tiny chink in her armour, a slip of the control she clung to so fiercely. Knew her pride would reappear, keep her from calling if she thought there was any pity in his tone.

"I'm here on my own, too. I'll be up most of tonight… 'Night." He slowly put the receiver down, resisting the urge to try and call her back again, try and get her on the phone while she was still feeling vulnerable so he could convince her he would be happy to be with her, even if she didn't want to change once there was no alcohol in her system.

Kite turned up the ring on his phone and carried it with him while he reheated some old pizza and washed up. He made his shower quick, and cleaned his teeth with the intention of spitting at any minute if the phone was to ring. It remained painfully mute and, as he crawled into bed and switched the light out, the silent phone beside him, he closed his eyes to imagine her. Blonde, grey and so sadly fallen from the fuchsia he liked to remember.

_So this is still Kite. Some people have told me they'd like a Lilly perspective and I think I'll put that next chapter. I've only recently watched Beautiful Little Fool, and I wanted to tie this fic in to that timeline, and to use the drunk dial constructively! Obviously Joseph has never happened, and there may be liberties taken later with an alternative story line. Let me know what you think!_


	3. Noodles in the Street

_Playlist: Lily Two by Matt Pond PA._

_Snow Ivy: A Lilly POV for you!_

_Disclaimer: Yeah, no. Just borrowing._

Lilly snapped the phone shut. What the hell was she doing? She and Kite were over, and if she was going to start making life changes, she didn't have to inform her of her move. Like he'd want to listen. Like he'd care.

"Crap." Lilly leant against the wall for a minute, her eyes closed. The sudden sobriety made her head spin; nothing like drinking on an empty stomach then having it evaporate at the surprise of hearing a voice on the other end of the line. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, putting the glass on the ground with the remaining alcohol left in it. Her cell rang in her hand and she jumped, nearly sending it clattering down the cold cement steps. She looked at the screen, saw Kite's name flashing in bold. Shoving the phone deep in her pocket, Lilly moved out of the car park. She was sure her mother had already told Jackie that she'd come down with a sudden stomach bug. Ellen had always been good at making up stories. _Remember when you broke a jaw?_

Lilly pulled her phone out of her pocket, ready to turn it off, but it rang again. She cursed any key answer as she waited for it to stop ringing. As soon as it did, she switched it off, knowing she couldn't answer his questions now, couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear; that she was fine. He'd always overstepped her boundaries, invited himself further into her life than she'd wanted him. She didn't need him asking her about her mother and why she hadn't mentioned her before. The subject had come up once, briefly, when they were still together. They'd been lying in bed together, quietly contemplating their own thoughts, gently breathing on each other's skin. He'd asked her why she didn't have any family pictures out, why she only had pictures of people she didn't know. She'd felt his voice rumble through her, had ached to answer the question with reasons; her mother had never really been a mother and her sister was a train wreck who'd slept with her ex-fiancé three months before the wedding. But too many years of carefully kept boundaries had made her turn, look up into his eyes, tell him they were never a family of photographers. Then they'd made love; the easiest way to stop him asking questions, before they'd walked to work, his arm heavy on her shoulders.

Now they were miles apart, and sex wasn't going to shut him up this time. Lilly flicked some hair out of her eyes, walked down a short cut side street. She didn't owe him anything; he'd ended it, and she'd heard that he was happy in his new job, and supposed he was probably seeing other people. She doubted he'd given her a thought since the night she'd come home to find a message on her answering machine from him. It was after George, after she'd been talked at all day; by Stillman, by the department psychologist, by the internal shooting squad… She'd given them all the answers they'd wanted to hear and had avoided her other colleagues' eyes, aware they were all waiting for her to crack; with a break down, the way to handle her would be clearly defined. They'd close ranks, offer her sympathy, give her time off and filing duties. Instead, she'd stayed together, kept her thoughts away from how good it had felt to kill that man, to kill his evil intent, and his destruction but most of all his link to little Lilly. Ignoring protocol, she'd pulled her own 49 after he'd mentioned it; hadn't trusted Scotty or Vera not to do a little sleuthing of their own, only to find out she hadn't been a virgin since she was ten because of a dark night and a mother who couldn't get her own alcohol.

She'd come home after all that, her 49 tucked safely in her bag, to a message asking her if she was okay, if she'd been hurt at all, how she was feeling. Just hearing his voice, the familiar tone, had started the trickle of tears that she couldn't stem until the next morning. She'd neglected the message, deleted it with the same pride that, she remembered, always came before a fall. Three days later, she'd opened up her 49 and reread the interview notes, to convince herself that she didn't need him, or anyone. That little Lilly was a long time ago and that she'd survived just fine. She'd called him back at a time she knew he'd be at work and left a short message, telling him she'd appreciated the call and that she was okay.

Lilly passed a take away shop and the smell of chinese beckoned her inside. She had considered the thought that they might be able to make it through dinner; that her mother might not act like herself for once. Instead, she'd acted as expected, and Lilly had come away from the dinner hungry and with the same nonexistent faith that there would ever be much of a relationship between her mother and herself.

After ordering, Lilly walked back out into the cool air outside. Her head was clearing more each minute, and she was left with the question of why she'd needed to justify herself against her mother to anyone; and why to Kite? He'd only known as much as she'd let him; if there was anyone who would have known what she was talking about, it was Ray. He'd seen where she'd come from, would know what she'd had meant without her having to explain anything else. Instead, she'd left a mess of words on Kite's machine, opening herself up to his endless questions. If he chose to ask them. If his new girlfriend didn't just delete her off there, annoyed at her intrusion into their domestic bliss.

Lilly's order number was called and she got her noodle box and kept walking. She wondered if her mother had unwittingly intruded upon her drunk dialling decision; she'd never liked Ray, especially since he'd stolen Lilly and, more, importantly had taken away the wage she'd made from a waitressing job that her mother had spent on alcohol. _I want better for you_. Like her mother could suddenly expect more just because she'd found a man she could pretend to be well adjusted with. She wondered whether she was trying to prove something; that Kite wasn't too good for her. That she could hold onto the good, or could grasp at it at least, clutching the thin threads of what they'd had. That reaching out in the dark, over distance, through alcohol drunk for the wrong reasons, past him not wanting to live in the shadow of her job… That somehow, she was justifying her life. _Look, Mom, I called the good one._ Somehow, even though her mother would probably never know, it made her feel better.

She could only stomach half the noodles before she put them in a trash can, filled almost to overflowing on a corner. They'd had a meet and greet with the alcohol in her stomach, and she could feel the vague stirrings of nausea starting. All she needed was a hangover tomorrow, confirming her colleague's suspicions; that if you wanted to crack Lilly Rush, it wasn't a sadistic serial killer you needed, it was her mother.

Under the next streetlight she checked her watch. She was only fifteen minutes from home, from the safety of her apartment where there were no pictures of her mother, no reminders of Kite, nothing but the safeness of the darkness and her cats.

_So this isn't as lyrical as Kite's part… But I don't think Lilly thinks in as much prose. She's straight forward and no nonsense. And, even if you don't think so, I believe she might walk down the street and psychoanalyse herself, especially after a meeting with her mother. Besides, what else is there to do while you're eating noodles?_


	4. One Silent, One Ringing

The next morning, he woke suddenly, his eyes flitting to the phone. It hadn't breached his sleep, his dreams of Lilly in the snow, standing in front of a trash can, hair smelling like vanilla and lips soft beneath his.

He wandered out to the machine, checked it. Nothing new. He replayed Lilly's last message as he waited for his toast. She still sounded sad, drunk, lonely. He buttered his toast, listened to the message again, debated about calling her. After a few moments of hovering his finger over the talk button, he put the phone down without making the connection. He'd wait her out for a day.

Kite replayed the message one more time before he finished his toast and started getting ready for work.

Lilly had noticed the blinking light on the machine when she got home. Even as a child, she wasn't the type of person to pick up Christmas presents to feel them and suppose what was inside. Not that there were many Christmas presents at the Rush household, but the few that had been there had always been touched by Chris, shaken until their mother had yelled at her to leave them alone. Lilly didn't live her life on a knife edge of expectation. Her curiosity wasn't overdeveloped, and it was because of this that she tripped past the blinking light without pressing the play button, kicking her shoes off as she went. It did briefly occur to her that it might have been Kite, but whatever he said, whatever words of pity he offered, she couldn't stomach them along with the noodles and booze.

The next morning, it was still blinking. Lilly paused as she poured her coffee, looked over it as she put out dry biscuits for the cats and finally reached over to let the machine tell her just how much of a fool she'd made of herself. She'd taken two Panadol before she went to sleep, but could still feel the faint threadings of a headache tingling along her skull.

His voice still sounded familiar, and she shut her eyes as she listened to the message, trying to gauge his emotions through the impersonally digitised sound.

"Lilly, it's Kite. Give me a call when you get this. I'm… I'm here on my own, too. I'll be up most of tonight… 'Night." She opened her eyes when the tape clicked off, furrowed her eyebrows. He sounded as if he might actually care, as if he might want her to call him back rather than leaving the opening out of politeness.

_I'm… I'm here on my own too._ She took that to mean that he was lonely too.

"Must be between girlfriends. Between the Julie's of the world." Lil reached down to address Olivia, scratched her head. She left the message on the machine; she'd call him back tonight, if she remembered.

When Kite got home, his answering machine still held only her two saved messages. He replayed them both, hoping she'd call in the meantime. That he'd pick up and they'd talk. He'd find the words to tell her he was an idiot, and that he was considering a job back in Philly. She'd tell him she was glad he was coming back and that she missed him. They'd live happily ever after.

The phone didn't ring while he was entertaining thoughts of walking her home every night, being able to permanently hang his coat next to hers. Letting himself in with his own key, and being able to stare her cats down because he had a place in her life, and her house as well. Sighing, Kite decided to call her; after he had a shower. He needed time to run through the conversation several times in his head. Lilly wasn't the type of person to address unprepared.

Lilly reached up over her head, felt her back crack, slender backbone realigning. She ran a hand through her hair on the way down, felt the length of it. She needed a trim, but she hadn't found the time. Work, as always, was hectic. She knew it didn't have to be this busy, but it wasn't like she had anything else to fill her time with. Besides, work was safe. It didn't leave itself open to drunken phone calls or emotional attachment.

"Lil, want a ride home?" Scotty was swinging his jacket from the back of his chair, making sure he had his car keys. Lil briefly shut her eyes, considered the nine block walk home, nodded.

"Sure, Scotty." She loosely wrapped her scarf, shut the files on her desk. It was late, and they were the only two left in the room. The air conditioning unit was clicking on and off, and their footsteps fell into time with it as they walked to the lift.

"Tomorrow, you want to try inputting the last of the files into the computer?" They'd just wrapped up a case, and nothing new had come in. Somehow they'd cleared the backlog, and were now digitising all evidence and other data from the old cases into the current computer system, seeing if any similar hits came up, or whether there were any DNA matches to current perps.

"Sure. Hopefully we'll get a hit on something." The last fifty or so cases they'd input hadn't gleaned anything; no MO matches, no DNA matches. If no info came through from outside, and no new hits came up they'd be twiddling their thumbs by the end of the week.

Lilly's cell rang just as Scotty started the car. She dug it out, looked at the display.

"Crap." She held it in her lap, concentrating on the screen, ready to turn it off when it stopped ringing. At Scotty's sideways glance, Lil shrugged a little, put the silent phone back in her bag. Sometimes, he was a little too nosy. She could still remember him looking past him when she was talking to Ray in Interview 1; as if they'd been getting it on in there. Ray had told her, too, that he'd surreptitiously tried to get info out of him about what happened after the Harley ride. He was her partner, and she didn't shut him out completely, but there were things he didn't need to know. Like the fact that she'd called Kite after downing too many straight drinks. And that, for some unknown reason, he'd been persistent in calling her back.

"Think Vera's still living at the motel?" Scotty changed the subject after a long silence, and Lilly shrugged again. She knew for a fact Vera was at the motel; he'd called her from there to interpret a letter Julie had sent him, figuring that, as he put it, 'a girl's perspective might get this to make some kinda sense.'

"Thanks for the ride." With a small sigh of relief that question hour was over, Lil gathered her bag, slid out of the car, waved as Scotty drove off. The streetlight near her apartment still wasn't working, despite the fact that she'd called the council days ago. Her tax dollars, working hard.

The phone was ringing as she was unlocking the door, and she let it go to the machine as she struggled to get the key out of the lock. It had been sticking in there, and she'd been meaning to call a locksmith but, like her hair, it had been neglected.

"Rush, it's Kite. Listen,… I just need you to call me back. Let me know you're okay. Talk to me…" There was an exhalation, as if he was building up to saying something. Lilly dropped her bag on the counter, leaned over the machine.

"Miss you, Lil. Call me." He hung up quickly after the quickly uttered last sentence. Not that Lilly had any intention of picking up; eventually he would stop calling. She knew his persistence had a point where it would wear thin, break. It had broken already, but he must have built up another layer since they'd parted. She wondered if it was as weak as the last one.

She did wonder at the name he used for her, though. He always called her Rush, or, on rare occasion, Lilly. Even though her colleagues all called her Lil, he would only shorten her name when they were in bed; caress it in a moan that sent shivers through her.

Lil kept the machine on and checked the cats had food before she went to shower. She gave Lindsay a quick call before she went to bed; they'd been trying to organise a girls' night out around both of their busy schedules, and so far they figured they could squeeze in a Friday night in a month's time. Unexpected emergencies permitting, of course.

Making a mental note to call the locksmith on Saturday, and to see if her hairdresser was willing to make a Sunday appointment, Lilly crawled into bed. She rolled onto her side and looked out the window. Hopefully, tomorrow would be a good day; possibility of a new case, more time for Kite to get over her mistake of a phone call, and a chance to relax at tomorrow night's first Thursday.

_So I realise this didn't advance the plot a whole bunch. Yes. I know. Really. But I wanted to start bringing Lilly and Kite together before… Well, I don't want to give it away, but next chapter will (hopefully) have plot advancement. Don't lose interest just yet! As always, please review!_


	5. To Philly

Even with the introduction of technology to the law; fax machines, high speed internet and email, there was still the need for paper hard copies to be exchanged. Whomever claimed the computer would lead to a paper free office hadn't realised the print button would be so easy to press. Kite had three inches of files on his desk, a headache he'd woken up with despite actually getting enough sleep for once, and a phone that was still irritatingly silent. He'd called her, bitten the bullet, voiced his feelings. And, damnit, he did miss her. It would be so much easier if he didn't; he knew there was a lawyer downtown who always showed up at the same bar as him, a tall brunette with chocolate coloured eyes. They'd struck up a conversation once or twice, and he'd debated starting something with her but even a casual relationship would have felt somehow wrong. With the way work was at the moment, though, he needed someone that was as much a workaholic as he needed to be to get everything done. He had his boss in one ear, telling him to clear the backlog, and his assistant DA's, complaining that they were already putting in too many hours. Rubbing his eyes and spinning around to look out the window, Kite didn't hear his paralegal walk in.

"So, I've got a request from Masters that you might not be jumping for joy about." Kite spun back around, leant forward at his desk. Jeremy was standing in front of the desk, arms crossed, suit already wrinkled though it wasn't far past eight am.

"Hm." Right now, he didn't think today could get much worse. Apparently, he'd been wrong. Anything coming from his boss was bad news at the moment. Re-election time was just around the corner, and everyone was on edge and more demanding than usual.

"He needs you to pass those off," Jeremy motioned towards the files on the desk before continuing, "and get back to Philly as soon as you can. They've had a disastrous run with their DA's and, since they're up a few murder trials there and there's nothing absolutely life threatening here, they need someone who knows the job to step in for a week or so until they can get a permanent replacement." Immediately Kite thought of a hundred reasons why it wasn't feasible for him to go back to Philly; he was acting DA here, they could appoint an ADA from Philly who needed the contacts, he couldn't just drop all his cases into the laps of his ADAs. Of course, this was political and nothing in politics was logical or practicable. And, his mind persisted with a clear thought that overrode his best protestations; Philadelphia was where Lilly was and he'd be back in a building a few blocks away from her.

"Right." Nodding, Kite sighed, thought of the flight and the climate change. "I'll book a ticket for after lunchtime, gives me enough time to sort these out." Jeremy looked almost surprised at his immediate agreement but nodded, left. Resisting the urge to turn and contemplate the view again, think of what he'd say to her when he saw her, Kite instead picked up the phone and started calling around, offloading his cases.

The day had started off well; the air was a perfect crispness, hinting at winter but still firmly anchored in autumn. Lilly had found a grey scarf she thought she'd lost winters ago, and she was having a remarkably good hair day. The phone call from Kite was still in the back of her mind. _Miss you, Lil._ She mulled over it as she walked to the office, finally decided he was just being nice, taking some responsibility for the call she'd placed to him. Although it was her fault, he was the one that had ended things.

She'd stopped to get everyone coffee on the way in to the office and was feeling the effect of her Triple Americano by the time she stepped through the cage on the third floor. Gun checked and coffees distributed, she'd started inputting data again. Two hours after that, Scotty looked up from his computer and smiled.

"We got something." There was almost a sigh of collective relief as they gathered around him, looked at the details.

"Bar tender murdered in '82. Fingerprints were found at the scene, and we gotta hit." Scotty pointed to the highlighted window on his screen.

"Roland Markes. Prior for domestic violence on his wife, Wendy. Address listed in North Philly for the past ten years." Jefferies read out the details.

"Everyone that was at the bar that night was interviewed. And it says Wendy Markes was on the list of those interviewed." Lilly had picked up the file, finished just as Stillman came to see what the huddle was about. Scotty filled him in.

"Sounds like something. Vera, you and Jeffries want to go find Mr Markes? Lil, you and Scotty track down Wendy, see what she's got to tell us. If the charges weren't dropped on the prior, chances are they aren't still together." Scotty started a search for Wendy, came up with an address.

"Now living in Roxborough." Scotty scrawled it on a piece of paper as Lil raised an eyebrow.

"Someone's moved up in the world."

Seven hours later, Roland was in custody for a murder and they were all patting themselves on the back. Quickest murder arrest they'd made, and it was all thanks to the new computer network; something Stillman was still marvelling at. Once Roland knew they had the prints on him, he'd cracked, admitted to it all. His ex-wife had been seeing the vic and he hadn't been able to handle the thought of them together.

"You right with that paperwork, Lil?" Stillman was grabbing his coat as Lilly nodded. She only had to fill in the last of Roland's statement and sign off.

"See you at Jones." Vera filed out soon after, never too slow when a drink was on offer. Jefferies had already left, and Scotty was picking up his coat as Lil closed the file and put it in an envelope to be taken to the DA the next morning; whomever that was. Ever since Kite had left, and Jefferies had taken out Danner, they'd had a bad run of DA's. Cage had left after only a few months with 'personal difficulties' and since then they'd been running through them at a rate of roughly one a month.

"Guess the first round should be on Stillman, for letting them talk him into getting us linked up to the new computer system." Lil nodded at Scotty's statement as they both holstered their guns before waiting at the lift.

"Yeah, even if he doesn't know how to work it." Scotty pressed the button for the ground floor after they got in, smiled at Lil. It was still an office joke; the only time Stillman had offered to use the computer, he'd not even known how to tell it was on.

"Good arrest today."

"Guy was ready to crack. Living with the guilt for that long. Probably did his wife a favour; she might have been living with the bar tender."

"Instead, she gets a doctor, moves to a fancy neighbourhood. Almost makes you feel sorry for him; all that to get his wife back, and she ends up in a nine bedroom house."

"You're not forgetting the domestic violence, are you? Broken cheekbone, three fractured fingers… Not to mention she probably wore sunglasses for a few weeks until the swelling on her eyes went down." Lilly gave Scotty a look as she pushed open the door, wrapping her scarf around her neck in response to the bitingly cold air that met them immediately.

"Right." Scotty nodded, acknowledged his defeat, stopped as well to adjust his jacket.

"I thought it was meant to be getting warmer." He complained as he shoved his hands deep in his pockets, watched Lil put her gloves on. She smiled, gave her arms a brisk rub. Scotty didn't know how she survived the cold; she didn't exactly have any body fat to keep her warm. Even with several layers on she still looked slender enough to break.

"You right to go?" Scotty snapped his eyes back up from examining her figure, hoping she couldn't see the slow spreading blush in the half light. Truth was, lately he'd been noticing her more than usual. After George and the woods, he'd felt something about her shift and change, and he'd responded to it accordingly. It wasn't just her hair, the way she showed up one day with it down around her face, impossibly blonde. It was more the way she carried herself now; less like just a detective and more like a woman. And to his discernment, he'd found a feeling that he was sure was jealousy stirring when she rode off with the guy on the Harley. The same feeling had been reawakened when they'd holed up in the interview room together, and he'd been relieved when Stillman had asked after her, giving him an excuse to knock on the door, break up whatever they were doing.

"Yeah." Scotty followed her as she stepped out of the light pooling from the lobby, into the dark street.

The plane ride had seemed impossibly long, even though it was only a few hours. He'd flipped through the complimentary magazine several times before giving up on the trashy celebrity news in favour of looking out the window at the clouds and trying to ignore how cramped his legs were. There was a kid sitting next to him who decided to play twenty questions. Kite answered nearly all of them before shutting him up with a coin trick and a joke so he could get back to the clouds. It felt like relief not to think for a while, although he could only manage for a few seconds before her image flitted back into his mind. That morning, at least, he hadn't had time to even consider her with all the placating he'd had to do when offloading all his cases. The ones that wouldn't make court he'd brought with him to wrap up here; if he got a chance. Jeremy had been dropping hints that he was walking into a war zone; an office that hadn't been run properly since he was there a few years ago. With the appeasing and worrying about how much slack he'd have to pick up when he got to Philadelphia, thoughts of Lilly had been buried. Now, however, they were back. It wasn't so much her as it was her reaction if he just showed up; he knew she didn't do so well with surprises. Kite knew that him appearing suddenly in Philadelphia was definitely going to surprise her, and he wasn't sure it would be a good surprise. He was hoping so, but too many unanswered calls was convincing him otherwise. And now, like fate, she was almost to the other side of the street, but on the same block as him, sharing the same air. For the first time in almost two years, they were back in the same city. He wasn't sure it was her at first; the hair was much longer, let loose to fall around her shoulders in a straight, silken sheet. The Lilly he'd known had been overly reluctant to let her hair down. But there was something too familiar about the way she moved, and he was pretty sure that was her partner walking beside her, looking like he was checking out her arse as they crossed the street. Kite pushed through the door, ignoring the cold air that swirled around his neck; his scarf was still in his hands, and he had no intention of stopping to put it on in case he lost sight of her. Briefcase and scarf held tightly, Kite gave the road a cursory glance each way before jogging across, closing the gap.

_Reviewers worshipped._


	6. All was not Lost

"Rush." On his call she paused, took a moment to turn. He wasn't close enough to gauge the initial reaction, before she replaced it with an impenetrable look; the same look she'd worn on the several, awkward occasions they'd seen each other after the break up. Even with a neutral expression, she was almost beautiful enough to make him turn away. Her hair was out; longer than he'd ever seen it, and an impossibly light blonde. She was wearing that coat, with a grey scarf that made her eyes look the same colour. The cold air had brought out a pink blush on her cheekbones, and most of her lipstick had worn off during the day, giving her lips only the barest tinge of red. She crossed her arms in front of her, but didn't look away from his eyes.

"Hey." Kite didn't even offer a glance to her partner, but he noted that the guy had stopped as well, probably ready to step in as his role as protector, tell Kite to beat it. He knew, too, that Lil would hate that.

"You didn't tell me you were in Philly." Her voice held the barest chill under the overly polite tone, and Kite wondered how much time it would take to re-thaw her.

"You wouldn't answer your phone." There was a flicker of amusement in her eyes before she looked at the ground. Blonde hair readjusted itself, swinging into her eyes, Impatiently, she tucked it back before turning to look at her partner.

"I'll meet you at Jones, Scotty." Kite could almost feel the waves of resentment coming from the guy as he gave Kite a brief glower, eyes hidden under deep brows.

"If you're late, you'll miss out on Stillman's shout." Kite could read between the lines, and he almost rolled his eyes at the direct dig; _don't spend too long with him_.

"Okay. I'll be there soon." Lilly waited, looking over her shoulder, until she thought he'd be out of earshot. Obviously they were still only partners, then. Kite felt relief, attached a grin to his face as she looked back at him warily. There was a silence between them, and Kite realised she wasn't going to continue the conversation easily, lost the smile a little.

"I got called back to pick up the slack here for a while. Just flew in this afternoon." Lily nodded noncommittally, shuffled her feet on the icy pavement.

"I've been trying to call you." Kite left the statement open, decided to wait it out. Then again, she was always better at holding the silence than he was. On their brief few walks to her home together, he'd chattered incessantly while she'd offered an amusing comment here, a vague statement there.

"I know. I was going to call you tonight if it wasn't too late when I got in." She shrugged a little, tucked her hair back again.

"Hot squad meeting again? Is that still what you guys are calling yourselves?" He felt rewarded when she offered him a slight smile, nodded.

"Among other weird names that lawyers just don't seem to understand." The smile widened as she made fun of him, and Kite took the jibe. Anything to get her smiling at him again.

"So, I guess lawyers still aren't welcome." He'd tried to invite himself there once, but she'd been against it; had told him it was only for cops.

"No." The answer was short, but was softened by the faint smile that still lingered on her lips.

"Any rule against lawyers walking you to the bar?"

"I guess that could be acceptable." Lilly let him take the curb side and they walked together in another silence, this one less stilted than the last few. He could almost imagine that they were still together, on their way to her house. He caught a brief strain of her perfume on the night air, tried to inhale it silently. She always smelt like white flowers; like jasmine and lilies. He'd always tried to surreptitiously look for a bottle when he was there; he'd never smelt that scent on a woman before. He'd never been successful, though, and before he knew it, he hadn't had the chance to look anymore.

"So how's work?" He decided to hover on a safe subject, keep her talking just so he could hear her voice. It was smooth tonight, silken, with no hint of the blurred emotion that his answering machine had reported to him.

"You know, the same. We got an arrest today, so it's probably going to be more… Cheerful at the tavern than usual." He could hear the smile in her voice, though her face was pointed down, watching where she stepped.

"You wear your hair down now?" Kite phrased it like a question, but he knew she'd pick up that it was a statement; a voice to his surprise to see her with longer hair left to caress her shoulders.

"Everyone needs a change once in a while." Her answer was light, the flippancy of her statement betrayed only by the underlying emotion in her voice as she spoke the words.

"I like it." Lil snuck a quick look up at him, a coy smile playing around her lips. He'd found that one of the most endearing things about her; she was always gorgeously bashful about accepting compliments.

"Here we are." Lilly paused outside an unassuming pub. Laughter burst through the glass doors from inside, and Lil looked towards the lit space within. Before she could walk off, feeling a rare surge of courage, Kite snagged her sleeve.

"Look, I know we broke up. I broke up with you. But it was a mistake. I… I was wrong, okay? Two years, and I still can't stop thinking about you. Then your phonecall-."

"That was…" Lilly shook her head, her eyes searching the brick wall behind Kite for an answer.

"I wasn't thinking clearly." Then her eyes were on him once more, the fathomless depths of them inviting him to sink into them.

"Rush, I still love you, damnit." He hadn't wanted to just come out and say it; had wanted to assess her first, the danger he'd be putting his heart in if he invested himself in her again. But he had to find the Lil she was, the Lilly he wanted to share the rest of his life with. The one with the reluctant emotions, the overabundance of dedication to her job, the laughter that was slow to come but impossible not to laugh with, the tendency to mother animals who were already damaged. Polite chit chat wasn't going to bring her back to him; last time he'd needed persistence, and a perfect first kiss. This time, there wasn't enough time for persistence, and their first kiss had been and gone. As perfect as it was, it was history between them; a memory that wouldn't leave him alone.

"Say something." She'd remained, mute, motionless, while he'd turned back towards the brick wall, mentally berating himself. Ready to mentally celebrate if his gamble paid off.

"Lil…" Kite reached a tentative hand out, brushed the hair back from her face. Her eyes flicked from his jacket, up to meet his and he almost held his breath, poised for a response. It was more than likely he'd just get her to flip out again, run with her heart intact, leaving his once again alone.

"I wondered. Why you kept calling me. Why you didn't just give up, like you did last time." Kite looked at the ground; he'd deserved that. Then again, she'd stayed outside talking to the guy for longer than the time allowed for politeness.

"You're not the easiest person to love, you know." Lilly looked away from him, bit her lip. He sensed her withdrawing, raced to keep her with him.

"But I do anyway." He reached a hand out, slowly, tentatively. It brushed her cheek, softly twisted a strand of hair.

"I have to go in." Lilly motioned to the door, moved back from his hand. He sighed, nodded, watched as she entered the raucous room. As she crossed the floor, she glanced back once, her eyes catching his briefly before she was swallowed up by the crowd.

Kite smiled, winding his scarf in his hands. It wasn't their first kiss, but the look she'd given him when she'd turned before walking to the bar… All was not lost.

_I have no idea where Kite took his new job. And I have basically not a clue about American geography, so just use your imagination. And make suggestions about possible places he could be according to the few sketchy details I've put in, because then we'll all know!_

_As to Lilly's reaction… She doesn't seem like an 'oh my god' type girl. More like a low-key player, trying to hold it together. Let me know what you think._


	7. Step stakeout

_This chapter dedicated to the exceptional Pealee, who not only reviews (yay!) but who also gave Kite a place to be when he's not in Philly. Thanks!_

People seemed to get hooked on her, like an improbable drug. Scotty didn't have to use any fingers to count which of his exes had remained in contact. This was the second one of Lilly's who had shown up unannounced, and she'd looked about as thrilled as she had last time. Then again, last time she'd ridden off with the guy after exchanging barely a hello.

He looked at his watch for the fifth time in five minutes and forty two seconds. He didn't think Kite would have obtained a Harley in the last two years, so if they were going anywhere, they'd be walking. He didn't think Kite's smooth tongue would work this time. Then again, Lil had said she'd be here soon. He wondered if he should check…

Then she was through the door, arms crossed, eyes downcast. From the look of it, this surprise meeting hadn't gone as well as the last. With barely a look, she passed the table and went straight for the ladies' room. Scotty half raised himself from the chair before sitting back down as the door swung shut behind her; he wasn't going to march into the ladies room to see how she was.

"What's up?" Jeffries asked quietly, tracking Scotty's eyes. Kat had something on with her daughter and wasn't there; otherwise Scotty would have tried to invent some excuse to send her in after Lil. She wasn't the most open person there was, and he was sure him sharing news of Kite being back in town wouldn't be appreciated. Then again, she hadn't held back in telling anyone how she felt about Christina, though she'd used ice queen language rather than words.

"Kite's back. He just bumped into us in the street." Somehow, Vera's ears picked up the news and he leant forward, always ready to hear gossip.

"What? When'd he get back? I thought he was gone for good. Specially after all those awkward hallway meetings." Vera was referring to all the times Lil and Kite had crossed paths after their break up. The overt politeness and forced smiles had tipped everyone off that it wasn't the most amicable break up in the world. Scotty hadn't known exactly what had happened, but he'd known Lilly hadn't wanted to talk about it at all. Any time he'd started to mention Kite's name or offer condolences she'd effectively shut him down with a quick change of subject, immediately damping the pain in her eyes. Obviously Kite had hurt her, which had made Scotty want to punch him as soon as he'd crossed the road and walked towards them. Scotty had mentally urged Lil to leave him dead, ignite the same flair of pain in his eyes. Instead, she'd sent Scotty off like an obedient little brother while she hovered with Kite. He'd tried to walk slowly, make out some of the words they'd said. All he'd picked up was that Kite had flown in this afternoon, and that he'd been trying to call Lil. Then Scotty had been too far away, too enveloped in the sounds of the street to be able to hear their soft tones.

"He's probably filling in for the last DA. He's still in the same state, it's not out of the question. The way they've been going through them here, they probably want someone as stable as Kite back in the office."

"No thanks to you." Vera and Jeffries clinked glasses as they remembered the king hit he'd put on Danner. Scotty kept his eyes towards the door with the woman in the dress on it.

"Crap." Lilly leant on the sink and directed her curse at the mirror. She stared at her reflection; he hadn't seen her at her best. Her lipstick was almost all worn off, the cold air had made her cheeks flushed and her hair, although still sitting remarkably well, was long past being due for a hair cut. She couldn't believe he was back. She'd called him at her weakest; after yet another devastating meeting with her mother, as all meetings with her mother seemed to be. Now he'd suddenly appeared. She knew he could have been sent here; Pittsburgh was in the same state, so they could trade off DA's if they needed, but it seemed a little too convenient.

Leaning back from the mirror, straightening her jacket, Lil sighed, pushed back some hair. No doubt Scotty had told them all that Kite had appeared. They probably thought she was in here gathering her emotions. Truth was, she wasn't so much gathering emotions as trying to ignore them. Kite had stirred something in her that she hadn't felt since she and Patrick were still happy, pre-Christina. He'd been pushy, sure, and he talked a lot and he had a thing about her cats but he'd been secure for a while, stable. Someone to come home with, to fall asleep next to or wake up in the middle of the night and hear them breathing, a reassuring presence reminding her she wasn't alone. But, like everyone else, he hadn't been able to deal with the amount of hours she put in to her work. Hadn't wanted to live as second best to her job. She'd never explained to him the reasoning behind it; that it kept her human, kept her believing she deserved to be out of the neighbourhood where she grew up and in the life she was meant to have. Then again, ever since the woods she'd been increasingly disillusioned about her work. George had unsettled her, made her come to the realisation that this life was it and, like everyone else, she was going to die one day. And that maybe she'd already redeemed herself enough.

Letting herself out of the bathrooms back into the hustle and burble of the tavern, Lilly saw Scotty's eyes immediately flick away from her. He'd probably been watching the bathroom door ever since she went in. She'd noticed him looking at her at work as well, but she pretended she never saw, not wanting to deal with it. Tonight, outside the door, she'd caught his eyes as they'd been looking her up and down. Guiltily, he'd hastily looked away before following her across the street. She didn't know what his problem was, why she'd suddenly become his focal interest. She liked him as a partner, but nothing more. As steadfast and thoughtful as he could be, he was Christina's leftovers. Chris didn't have a problem taking up with Lil's men, but Lilly wasn't going to lower herself to the same level. Besides, Scotty was Scotty; it'd be like sleeping with a brother.

"Scotch, straight." Lilly ordered her drink, threw a note on the bar. She usually stuck to softer drinks but tonight she needed the alcohol. _Rush, I still love you, damnit._ Definitely needed the alcohol.

"So, Lil…" Vera started talking as she sat down before trailing off. She forced a smile. No need to share with the whole team how unsettled Kite had managed to make her.

"Kite's back for a little while until they manage to find a DA who might actually stay around." She decided to get the conversation over and done with rather than have it hover around them, awkward and unspoken. She knew she was an easy target for the guys because she hated talking about her private life. When Ray had come back they'd all managed to find time to give her the third degree. And the amount of looks she got after she threw Ray out of the interview room…

"What, he won't be staying?" Scotty asked. Lil shook her head, although she wasn't entirely sure what Kite's movements were. She didn't know what she was meant to get out of their conversation; that he still loved her, sure, but was he going to keep it unrequited or did he want them to become an item again? And if they did get back together, what then? Marriage, kids? A stable relationship that would last longer than she and Patrick had? Kite leaving again because she got home late one too many times? She didn't even want to consider everything that needed to be thought about. It had been infinitely easier when he'd lived here, when they were in walking distance of each other's houses, when they hadn't broken up already.

"Only until they find a DA who'll stick around." She repeated herself, drank half the scotch in a few mouthfuls. It hit her immediately, warmed her up.

"Another round?" Vera asked as he motioned to the waitress. Lilly nodded, waved her glass. As long as she could remember Kite's words, she wasn't drunk enough.

"Lil, I'll drive you home." Scotty had stopped at three beers before switching to soft drink. Usually Lilly did the same; a few drinks to take the edge of the day, then iced waters for the rest of the night. He wondered what exactly Kite had said to her to make her down nine straight glasses of scotch over the past few hours. Even Vera had looked around the table as Lil had ordered her eighth, raised his eyebrows. She was holding it remarkably well, though. The only thing that betrayed her was the feverish look in her eyes and the slight blush in her cheeks. She hadn't yet stood up yet, and Scotty wasn't sure how that would go. He'd never seen Lilly truly drunk yet, only mildly tipsy at last year's Christmas party.

"Right, I just need my…" Lil patted her pockets, lifted up her glass to look underneath and shuffled on the seat as she searched for something.

"You lost something?" Scotty moved around the serviettes on the table, wondering if she'd misplaced her keys. Jeffries waved his good night as he left. Vera had already departed ten minutes ago, and Stillman had gone home straight after him.

"Just… I swear…" She stood up, swayed slightly but regained her balance by resting her hand lightly on the back of the booth. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip while she thought.

"What'd you lose, Lil?" Scotty watched her lips, not minding the wait while she formulated an answer.

"My coat, Scotty. It's cold out." Scotty looked down to hide a smile. He'd thought she was doing pretty damn well despite the ingestion of all that alcohol.

"You're still wearing it, Lil." He looked up in time to see her look down, run her fingers over the buttons.

"Right." She giggled and Scotty realised he'd never heard her giggle before. She really wasn't the type; she smiled, laughed occasionally, but he'd never heard the cute burble of amusement that had just crossed her lips.

Scotty shook his head, watched her walk around the table towards the door. The bar had been emptying out since nine; most of the people who were there were professional, blue collar types and they'd all need to be at work early Friday morning. Scotty stepped into the cold air, waited while Lil stepped out behind him. She was only weaving slightly but her hand found his arm as she stumbled on the last step. Scotty half turned and her other arm landed against his chest, fingers small, unfurling to support her while she rebalanced.

"Sorry." She dropped her hands, offered him a meagre smile. Scotty smiled back, turned to beep his car open. He brought a hand up to where hers had landed. His coat was still warm from her touch and he let his fingers stray over the fabric until he got in the car. Lilly hadn't noticed; she was too busy contesting the seatbelt. She pulled and it stayed firmly in its place.

"Crap." She muttered, tugging at it a few more times. Scotty started the car and put it in neutral while he leant across her to pull her seatbelt down. He could feel her breath on the back of his neck as he struggled with it, and it prickled his skin, made him shiver. He clicked the seatbelt into place, pulled away from her quickly. It was a struggle to stay professional; he could manage it when she was being Lilly Rush, professional, ice queen, closed book, but right now she was leaning forward so her hair fell over his right knee, trying to do something to his radio.

"There." She sat back with satisfaction as rock music came from the speakers. It was old school rock; Alice Cooper was singing about sweat and black lace. Scotty shot her a sideways glance as he pulled into the street. He knew she hated show tunes, but he hadn't pegged her as the rock type. She was tapping her finger on her leg, humming as she looked out the window. As if she sensed his glance, she looked across in time to catch his eye before he turned his attention back to the road.

"Not an Alice Cooper fan?" Scotty shrugged, turned the corner.

"Just didn't figure you as one."

"You got me all wrong, Valens." She paused, laughed, looked like she was remembering something. Scotty could feel his eyebrows drawing together as he looked over at her. She sensed his confusion, offered him a half smile.

"Just something someone said to me once." She sighed, turned her focus back to the buildings they were passing, the occasional bare tree illuminated under blinking streetlights. Scotty turned down her street, pulled up opposite her house. He looked out her door as she opened it, undoing his seatbelt as he saw a figure stand up on her step. He got out of the car to see more clearly, almost yelled to Lil to stop. She was concentrating on finding her keys in her bag, and it looked like she hadn't noticed that Kite was walking towards her.

"Hey." Scotty heard him greet her as he walked around the car and his fists tensed involuntarily. He wasn't an idiot; he'd seen the look Kite had given her when she'd turned to face him in the street and he didn't assume their conversation would be their end of their interaction while Kite was here, but he hadn't thought the guy would stake out her front steps.

"What are you doing here?" Scotty asked. Lilly was staring at Kite, her keys dangling from limp fingers. She startled at Scotty's loud words, suddenly became reanimated.

"Didn't expect you…" She sounded similar than she had on the answering machine, though less desolate, and Kite figured she'd had a few drinks at the bar. After than conversation, he'd found a bar himself, nursed a double sour whisky for several hours before deciding to come to her house. He'd knocked for a while before he realised she wasn't home. Settling himself on the cold steps, he'd decided to wait for her though he hadn't bet on her partner driving her home. He knew the last thing Lilly wanted was gossip about her private life broadcast over her office; that was one thing she'd been absolutely adamant about. He'd mentioned something about how she looked with her hair down to an ADA once, and it had gotten back to her. She'd found him, eyes blazing, and chewed him out until he felt about an inch high. He'd realised why she was so dangerous in an interview room, apologised with a dozen white roses, and finally, had been forgiven. He didn't want to get on her bad side again, ever, so he shrugged at Scotty.

"Lil and I didn't finish talking." It wasn't far from the truth. There was more he wanted to say, much more that he wanted to hear from you and he'd wanted to figuratively strike while the iron was hot; the glance she'd given him across the crowded floor had been etched in his mind since their eyes met, and he'd wanted to find out if it meant what he thought.

"You hurt her again…" Scotty had stepped closer to him lowered his voice to void Lil overhearing. She'd slowly made her way up to her door, each step obviously an effort. Kite almost smiled; he'd seen her inebriated only once. They'd both had things to celebrate; he'd won a case that put a killer away indefinitely and she solved a murder that had, at first, appeared unsolvable. They'd been meaning to have a few drinks and go to a little Chinese restaurant near her house, but a few drinks turned into too many before they'd woven their way back to her house and fallen asleep fully clothed. He still remembered the giggle she got when she was drunk. He'd tripped over the edge of a curb and she'd burst out with a giggle as she'd helped him up. He hadn't been able to help himself; it had been too inviting not to laugh along with her, even as he'd felt the bruise forming on his knee.

"What business is it of yours?" Kite answered just as softly, his tone as dangerous. He wanted to put this guy in his place; working with Lil every day didn't make him her unofficial bodyguard. The words made Scotty pause, and Kite could see the emotions bubbling beneath the surface. He wondered if Lilly knew her partner had a hard on for her.

Kite heard Lilly finally getting the door open and she flipped on a light inside, illuminating a square outside the size of the open doorway. It dissipated the tension between them slightly, and Kite stepped back. They knew where each other stood, and neither was budging. It was down to Lil now. He turned to look at her, blonde hair haloed in the light from behind her. Her eyes met his, and he could see the internal battle going on; the rationality the alcohol had annihilated was coming up against her better judgement. Kite liked to think her better judgement was what invited him in, but he was probably lucky she'd drank as much as she had. Walking up the steps, Kite was unable to resist shooting a smile over at Scotty, who met him with dark eyes. He stepped past Lilly as she swung the door shut behind him. She waited a moment there, listening to Scotty's car drive away before she turned to face him.

_I know Americans say restroom but in Aus it's bathroom, so that's what I've written. The Alice Cooper song is Poison as well, in case you don't guess it. I had a mild infatuation with this song for a while and it's still in my playlist. Hopefully I got the knee-closest-to-the-passenger right, too. We drive on the other side. And I know this chapter is a bit of a deviation… Scotty's thoughts and all… I felt I needed to dimensionalise this fic a little, cover the fact that no person is an island. Besides, I wanted a Kite/Scotty confrontation and a tipsy Lilly, okay? So sue me. Besides, Lil isn't the most sober person when it comes to emotionally charged things she'd rather avoid. And she tends to reach out to Kite when she's drunk, so… _

_Please review!_


	8. Inside

She wasn't sure why she'd invited him in. It was a combination of the looks in his eyes, the words that were still reverberating around her mind despite the alcohol and the childish desire to let Scotty know she could have a life if she wanted. No doubt tomorrow she'd be regretting it; Scotty hadn't wasted any time letting everyone know Kite was back at the bar. She was sure he'd feel the need to let it slip that Kite had been invited in, letting everyone jump to the conclusion they'd gotten horizontal. Not that she didn't want to sleep with him; no matter what image of herself she tried to present at work, she wasn't an ice queen without desire. But sex opened the way to new intimacies, and she wasn't sure she was ready to deal. If Kite had come to her with a no-strings-attached package, the way Ray always did, she might be more tempted.

"So…" He was looking at her, gauging the reaction, probably a little surprised he'd actually been let in. She hadn't been completely unfriendly to him in the street, but she hadn't exactly let him know he was in with a chance, either. Then, she hadn't known what she wanted. Even now, when he was standing in front of her in her apartment, she still didn't know. Lilly gave herself time while she unbuttoned her coat, hung it carefully on the coat rack. She didn't want to admit to him what an effort it was to stand up straight; the edges of her vision were nothing but a swirling mess and although she could assimilate thoughts, it was taking longer than usual. She hadn't kept track of the amount of drinks she'd had; her ability to count had petered out. She remembered the number five, but was sure there had been more after that. Not the ideal time for a deep and meaningful.

"I didn't come for… Well, you know." He motioned between them and she felt herself laugh, cut it short as she conscientiously walked over to him, avoiding the edge of the rug.

"Really?" She was in front of him, as close as they'd been in the snow. She'd never admitted it to him, then or since, that their first kiss had left her more than a little breathless. She hated that he had that effect on her, but at the same time it was thrilling, like the feeling in your stomach when you know the guy across from you killed the victim, and he finally cracks, tells you the what, and the why, and the how.

"Well…" Lil let herself giggle as she saw him lick his lips, shuffle his feet. Of course, finding someone who left you breathless was only worthwhile if you had the same effect on them.

"I wanted to talk. Without you having to rush off anywhere." He managed to gather himself and Lil turned, sat herself down on the couch. It was too much effort to remain standing, and she didn't want him to have to catch her if she suddenly lost her grip on gravity.

"Okay." She busied herself taking off her shoes; who knew buckles were so complicated? Kite sat down next to her, waited until she'd finally pulled off her second shoe and tucked her feet underneath her.

"I wasn't lying. I love you, Rush." Lil looked at her knees, noticed a spot of fluff on her pants, picked it off. She was always good with the small details when she was drunk; picking lint off jackets and making sure she had an even number of ice cubes in her glass became monumentally important things.

"You live in Pittsburgh. You hate the amount of hours I work. I mean, you broke up with me the first time. I know I shouldn't have stayed outside so long, but it's my job, you know. It's all I've ever wanted to do, and…" Lil let her words trail off. The amount of words she spoke also increased with the more alcohol she drank, and she could feel the edges of her words sliding together, bunching in her mouth as she tried to get them out. Kite absorbed her protests before he spoke.

"I can get a transfer back here. I want to transfer back here. And I know you work, but…" he shrugged, continued, "it's who you are. And I can accept it now. Two years without you…" Kite looked almost embarrassed as Lilly's eyes met his. He'd always been better at voicing his feelings than her; he'd always told her how he felt outright, how much he liked her. He'd even handled their break up succinctly. But she sensed this was going to go deeper than all that.

"I've lain awake so many nights, just thinking about you. I missed you so much. I need you, Lil." There he was with the name again. Lilly tilted her head to the side, bit her lip. There were so many places she could go from here; she could offer him more protests, accept his words at face value but move on to all the questions she had, tell him she loved him as well. But it was late, she was tired, he was so close and she was done talking. Lilly moved herself forward over him so he would have had to lean back to avoid their chests touching. He didn't move and she gave his eyes one long, searching look before letting her lips float down to land on his.

It wasn't their first kiss, but it had been a long time since he'd held her in his arms. He hadn't forgotten how smooth her skin was, or how quickly she could undo buttons, but her sudden passion did surprise him. He sensed she wasn't the same woman he'd left two years ago; time had delivered her back to him a less inhibited version. He sensed it might have something to do with the reason she changed her hair, but he didn't want to interrupt her to ask; one of her hands was wavering at his waistband, undoing his belt, while the other pushed through his hair, drew his head closer so he could feel her teeth against his lips in her kiss. She got his belt undone, paused to sit up and pull off her shirt. Her hair settled back down around her bare shoulders, slightly more ruffled than before. He rested his hands around her waist, pulled her back down to him. She'd effectively pushed his shirt aside, and he wanted to feel her bare skin against his. Her bra was lacy, light blue, annoyingly arousing as the edges tickled his chest. He closed his eyes, let her entwine herself around him, hair blocking the light, breath warm. Then, suddenly, as quickly as she'd let her weight sink onto him, she was gone. Kite could hear her run into the kitchen before he heard the retching. By the time he arrived, she was drinking water from the tap. Her backbone knobbled her skin, and he could almost count her ribs through her pale sides.

He walked over to her, held her hair back as she swirled water in her mouth, spit it out. Even bent over a sink that she'd just thrown up in, he couldn't help but admire the way the back of her neck was a slender length of fair skin he wanted to feel against his lips. Finally, she turned the tap off, stood. He reluctantly released the threads of light gold from his grasp as she pulled away.

"Kinda glad you made the run for it." He said, meaning every word. He'd been thrown up on once in his life; his nephew had eaten too much ice cream, and had brought it back up in a syrupy mess over his lap.

She smiled wanly, moved to the fridge to get herself a water bottle.

"Guess I might have drank too much." She nodded, drank a few mouthfuls. Droplets clung to her lips when she lowered the bottle and she licked them off. Kite put his hands into his pockets, couldn't help but drop his eyes to her front, the goosebumps that prickled her skin as the cold water chilled her. She took the water with her when she moved back to the couch, retrieved her shirt. Kite leant against the doorway. She sat on the coffee table to do up the few buttons that had come undone when she'd pulled it off.

"So…" Kite half shrugged as she looked up at him, pushing her hair back from her face. She looked suddenly tired, frighteningly pale.

"I'll sleep on the couch." He didn't want to not be here. Didn't want her to wake up in the morning without him and realise that was how she preferred it. Besides, she might need another human hair clip later in the night. Her look was inscrutable as her eyes perused his. He was sure she was looking straight at his every emotion; the heart she brought to his sleeve, the fervour she aroused in him.

There was a sigh as she stood, swayed, steadied.

"We're both adults." He narrowed his eyes, trying to work out the meaning. Her head tilt towards the stairs as she started walking caught him up and he followed her up.

Lilly went straight to the bathroom with her PJs in hand, cleaned her teeth, changed out of her work clothes. She hated throwing up, especially in front of people. To his credit, he hadn't left immediately, recoiled in disgust. His cool hands holding back her hair had been appreciated, and, as usual, just the right move.

Opening her bathroom cabinet, Lil shook two Panadol into her hands. She thought for a moment, popped out two more. Swallowing as much water as she could physically fit in a stomach that had just been rapidly emptied, she turned off the tap and left the bathroom.

He'd pulled the blanket back on her side of the bed and was unbuttoning his shirt as she walked back in. As impulsive as it had been to invite him in and practically jump him on the couch, Lil knew why she'd invited him to sleep in her bed, and she hated herself for it. Every time she drank, it reminded her of Ellen. Usually, though, her drinking was brought on by Ellen. This time, no mother in sight to blame the excess intoxication on. Her words still came back in times of drunkenness; _Least I'm not alone_. Cruel words that had irrevocably seared themselves on Lilly's self conscious. And tonight she'd had the good guy; _he was too good, right_; standing in front of her, telling her he needed her. She'd grabbed that with both hands, not only because she was lonely but because she needed to show her mother she could be happy, when she wanted to be.

"Alarm for seven?" Lil asked. She turned to see Kite nodding, climbing into her bed in his boxers. She reset the time on the alarm, pulled the blanket over her.

"'Night." Kite said as she reached to switch off the light.

"'Night." The room was in darkness, and she could hear him breathing. She turned, reached a hand out under the covers. It found his arm, moved along to tentatively interlock their fingers. She'd invited him here on her mother's unassuming advice, but it didn't mean she couldn't accept his closeness. Slowly, Lilly felt both their breaths lengthening, drawing out to the evenness of the dreaming. Then, all was dark.

_You know what, I had a lot of excuses posted for Lilly's actions. And then I thought about it; it's not as farfetched as it seems. Out of three men, she's gotten with two of them pretty durn quickly. And now that Kite is familiar territory… Go with it. Reviewers adored._


	9. Lunch?

_I'm sorry for the wait; hopefully you haven't all packed your bags and given up. I wrote an extra long chapter just to make up for it!_

She woke up slowly, the after effects of the night before slowly bleeding into her subconscious, the way the sun was fanning through the blinds. The headache, already beginning to grip her temples. The steady breathing behind her. The warm arm draped heavy across her middle.

"Crap."

The clock, which was now reading 7.54, and which either hadn't gone off, or… Lil picked it up, checked the alarm. She'd set it for PM.

"Damn it." Putting the clock down heavy enough for the sound to make her head ache, Lil slid out from under Kite's arm. He stirred, and she paused, watching him. He was more tanned than he'd been before and his hair was longer at the front so a strand fell over his forehead. Hesitantly, Lilly reached forward, almost pushed it back. Deciding against it, she dropped her hand to his arm, shook it.

"It's nearly eight." He opened his eyes, stretched, yawned, watched her open and close drawers while she tried to figure out what she was going to wear.

"What?" He was still catching up, and she didn't blame him. It was late when she'd gotten home, later still when they'd finally fallen asleep and despite the extra hour of sleep, she didn't think it had been enough.

"Nearly eight. Alarm… Didn't go off." She decided to omit the details of exactly why it didn't go off, not wanting to deal with his smile. He knew she drank too much last night; he'd been her hair holder. He didn't need a reminder.

"Shit." Kite swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his hair. He started putting on his clothes from yesterday while Lil dashed to the shower. Waiting while the hot water came through, she popped two more Panadol and looked at her eyes in the mirror. Not as bloodshot as she'd have thought; she didn't actually look like she'd been on a bender.

"So, I'm gonna go. Gotta go to the motel, get some clothes." Kite cracked the bathroom door, spoke over the water.

"Okay." Lil let the lukewarm water run over her face.

"So…"

"I'll call you later."

"Okay." A pause, and he was gone. She knew what the pause was about; last time when they'd been together, every time she'd promised to call him she'd inevitably been caught up with something case related and had forgotten. She wondered whether the track record would hold, or whether she'd get time to call him, tell him… She wasn't sure what to tell him. He'd given her everything she needed to hear; he loved her, he'd move back to Philadelphia to be with her and his previous resentment at the amount of time she spent at work would be dealt with. Now she had to give him some kind of response. Whether she wanted him to move back. If she loved him. She thought she was beginning to love him, when they were together the first time. Slowly, he'd given her enough chances to slip under his charms, fall prey to the same magic he insisted she'd worked on him. Then, abruptly, he'd ended it and she'd been taught, once again, that falling in love never worked.

Clothes on, shower off and hair roughly brushed into place, Lilly still hadn't managed to work out what her end of the yet-to-be-carried-out phone conversation would be. Deciding to think about it later while putting her gun on her hip and swearing at the time again, Lil quickly poured the cats some food before rushing out the door.

"Sorry I'm late." Lil rushed into the office, threw her gun in her locker and came to join the team. Obviously a new case had come in, and she'd missed out on half the briefing. Stillman raised an eyebrow.

"Caught up with something?" She couldn't read any underlying assumptions in his tone; figured the news of Kite's return hadn't reached him yet. Nonetheless, he was there last night and had probably been privy to how much scotch she'd knocked back. There was an upside to growing up with a drunk for a mother, though. Two litres of water and eight Panadol later, she was feeling reasonable. She brushed her hair out of her face, studiously avoided Scotty's eyes.

"Yeah, just a… Cat emergency." Lil picked the most obvious of excuses. She'd only used it once before, but that time she hadn't lied. Olivia had refused to go outside for a week, and still cowered every time she saw a dog. Scotty coughed, and Lil picked up the file, ignored him.

"So, what've we got?"

"Woman murdered in her own home, February '93. Eleanor Mire. No witnesses, no real suspects."

"Burglary?" Lilly asked, opening to the crime scene photos.

"Nothing stolen from the scene that the sister could see. No sign of forced entry, though. Looked like she knew the perp, let them in."

After sorting through the case notes and ringing around to find the original team that had investigated the homicide the first time around, he and Lil had gone to interview the victim's best friend at the time. Scotty had watched her through the interview, which hadn't gained them much information, but hadn't noticed signs of overt tiredness or a hangover. He hated to admit it, but he was dying to know what happened after she shut the door and he drove away. Whether they talked. Whether they did more. If Kite stayed the entire night.

"So, Boss say how we got onto this case?" Lil was reading through the rest of the notes they had out of the file as Scotty drove them back to the office.

"Uh… I think Eleanor's sister came in early this morning. Their mother's sick, in a nursing home. Wants to know what happened before she dies."

"Hm…" Lil pulled out the picture of Eleanor; smiling, one hand out as if she was explaining something to the person operating the camera. It was world's away from the crime scene photos, which were almost black with the amount of blood that had crept, gushing, out of Eleanor's slashed throat.

"Nothing from the friend. Alibi still checks out. No apparent motive for her." Lil idly jiggled her ankle on her knee, taking a sip out of her coffee. She flipped through the crime scene photos again as Kat spoke next.

"We talked to the boyfriend, William Basquiat. His alibi is his current wife. Apparently he was seeing both her and Eleanor, and they had a date that night."

"You talk to her?" Stillman asked. Vera shook his head.

"She's some kind of lawyer. So high up in the food chain she had three secretaries and a paralegal block us. Claimed she was in a meeting that couldn't be interrupted. We've got an interview at twelve."

"When I spoke to the sister this morning, she said it wasn't likely he did it. Said he was a devout pacifist." Jeffries said.

"Something strange about him, though. Even if his alibi checks out, I think he deserves another look." Kat said. Lilly flipped the file shut, put her empty coffee mug on the desk.

"Didn't seem to be anyone else in her life. Work colleagues, maybe, but from the old interview notes, it doesn't sound like anyone really knew her that well."

"Sister said she didn't have a lot of friends. Kept to herself mostly, worked more hours than she didn't."

"Will, you and Scotty track down a few of the people she worked with, see if they have anything new to add now. Start by going to her old firm; it's still operating. Kat, you and Vera keep your appointment with the wife. Make sure you get her down to details. Lil, I want you to go to the boyfriend; maybe he'll have had time to think of something else." Everyone nodded, started collecting their jackets and phones.

"Lil, you feeling all right?" Stillman asked her when he thought everyone else would be out of earshot. She flicked her hair out of her jacket collar, looked affronted at the question.

"Fine, thanks."

"What was that about?" Kat asked as she and Scotty checked out their guns. Vera overheard her, smiled as everyone trailed him to the lift and he pressed the down button.

"Lil managed to outdrink everyone last night; put together."

"No way?" Kat looked across to Lil, who was drinking the last of her coffee and skimming through the few notes Vera and Kat had written down about the interview they'd already done. Scotty nodded.

"Seven straight scotches… Maybe eight."

"Makes my head hurt just thinking about it." Will said as they got into the lift and, once again, Vera pushed the button.

"You're not serious. She didn't pass out?" Kat looked incredulous.

"Could barely tell she'd had anything. She's gotta have an iron stomach." They got out at the ground floor and went their separate ways.

She couldn't believe the boss had asked her how she was. Sure, she'd had more than a few drinks last night and she'd been a little late this morning but it wasn't as if she wasn't pulling her weight. If he'd been at the interview she and Scotty had done this morning, he'd have seen she'd asked the questions while Scotty tried to look interested but was sneaking surreptitious glances at her, probably thinking she wouldn't notice. She wanted to point out to him that she _was_ a detective. She knew he would be wondering how many bases she and Kite had covered. As if it was any of his damn business.

She tucked the interview notes back into the file and viciously pulled her jacket off the chair. She hated office gossip. She didn't see the need for office gossip. Vera was getting around now his marriage had broken up, but no one really talked about that. Of course, Vera would offer every little detail if asked. It was something about withholding information that got the grapevine going. It wasn't like she was going to shout from the rooftops, though. It wasn't like she had anything to shout; she was still considering her words to Kite. He loved her and he wanted her back. And she'd thought it was love the first time around. Something about the way his eyes narrowed when he was figuring something out and the way his hands felt on her bare back and the way he could always find the right thing to say still made her feel like smiling, or laughing out loud. Like the feeling he gave her needed some exterior expression so she could share her happiness with everyone else. And that's what it was. He made her happy.

"Out on the street, Boss." Lil called to Stillman as she made her way out, acknowledged his nod. According to Vera and Kat, William Basquiat worked at a pet shop across town. Lil checked her gun and chewed a thumb nail as she waited for the lift. Strange match; pet shop employee and executive corporate lawyer.

Kite wrote another note in the margin of the page. In fifteen minutes he was going to have to give the court evidence of why a man currently awaiting trial for the murders of two Philadelphia cocktail waitresses shouldn't be allowed bail. He'd like to have just said that the guy was a danger to society since he'd plunged a knife deep into the jugular of his first victim and stood in the blood spray. Of course, the defending lawyer would have something to say about that, and he knew this judge wouldn't stand for theatrical statements. So he was going to have to come up with something a little more substantial.

"Kite." The desk phone rang and he grabbed for it, wanting it to be Lil on the other end. He needed a distraction from the crime scene details right about now.

"Hey, Jeremy." Kite continued reading, filling in another line of his statement to the court. He'd told Jeremy to keep him caught up with everything in Pittsburgh but he hadn't been expecting a call until tomorrow.

"I faxed everything through when I got to the office this morning. Page three has wit statements. Tell Lisa to call the PD if she needs anything else… Things here? Great… Well, office is a mess but… Okay. I've got court in ten, I'll talk to you later." Kite hung up the phone and wrote in what he hoped would be convincing enough to keep the cocktail waitresses of the city safe. There were no missed calls on his cell as he pulled it out of his pocket to switch it to vibrate. If she called while he was in court, he'd feel it on his heart.

Lilly walked over to the hot dog stand that set up outside Philly PD sometimes. She was sure it did a roaring trade on those days; cops weren't exactly known for their excessively healthy eating habits.

"How was Basquiat?" Kat asked, spooning sauerkraut over her dog while Vera looked on with an expression akin to horror. Lil shrugged, shook her head when Will offered her his hot dog. The Panadol had worked for the morning, but the headache was starting to come back. The last thing she'd need would be nausea from fast food.

"He was quiet. Seemed sad about the whole thing."

"Sad enough to be the doer?" Vera asked as he delicately placed a trail of mustard along his bun.

"I don't know... Just sad about it. Regretful, maybe. And he's a committed pacifist."

"Now there's a godless religion." Vera said.

"Apathy as a form of survival." Lil paid for a bottle of water and took a sip.

"How'd you go with the current wife? She give you anything?" Vera and Kat shared a look before they spoke.

"She's cold. Told us Eleanor was asking for it, knew William was cheating on her but wouldn't give him up."

"Said she was asking for it? You think she had something to do with it?" Lil took another sip of her water, regretted not getting a hot dog as her stomach gave a punctuary growl.

"Woman might have known she was coming in second best to Eleanor." Jeffries shrugged.

"And a woman like that don't come second best." Vera wiped his fingers and threw his serviette in the bin.

"That's not enough to bring her in. And I'm guessing she's not volunteering her time." Vera shook his head.

"Not unless we pay the bill. She flies on $750 an hour at the bare minimum."

"You do know the DA now, though. Maybe you can use your connections…" Scotty raised an eyebrow at her after he swallowed the last of his lunch. Lil glowered at him. She'd wondered how long it was before he'd bring it up again.

"We need more to go on. There were fingerprints found at the scene… If we could get something from her to compare we might be able to get a warrant signed."

"So who gets to take first round of staking out the trash can to pick up the used coffee cup?" Vera asked cheerfully.

"See what Boss says- whether he wants us to take that angle." Lilly preceded them up the stairs, pushed the button when they all reached the lift.

The lift doors opened to reveal her standing, flanked by the rest of her team. She moved a few strands of hair out of her eyes, looked up.

"Hey." Kite said, moving out of the lift as the detectives stepped in. After court he'd needed to the bail denial signed by the chief detective to verify the reasoning behind it. He'd looked into the third floor homicide room briefly but hadn't seen her.

"Hey." She paused, briefly, shot a sideways glance into the lift at the eyes pretending not to stare out at the awkward exchange. She bit her lip and Kite could tell there was more she wanted to say without the ears of her colleagues listening. He wondered whether she'd come up with something to say. Whether she'd come to some kind of decision; whether he should transfer here or not bother unpacking his bags.

With a dull ping, the doors closed and Lil pushed the button for the third floor. She could feel the eyes on her back but, worse than that, she could almost feel Kite giving up. He'd promised to change and she couldn't manage more than a one word greeting because she was in front of the team despite the fact that he'd bared his soul to her the night before. And was still awaiting an answer.

Without thinking about it anymore, Lil pushed the button for the first floor and stepped out as the lift shuddered to an almost instant stop.

"I'm going to get some lunch. I'll be back up in a few." She ignored Scotty's expression and stepped straight into the second lift which was, surprisingly, paused on the floor as two blues got out, nodding her hello. She nodded back, pushed the ground floor button several times as if it would make the aging doors close faster.

_So that vibrating cell phone line was cheesy, but I just couldn't un-write it. Kite's a cheesy guy. I mean, really, he sings and he dances. And he's pretty. It adds up!_

_Hope you enjoyed. Please review!_


End file.
